No ‘blanket answer’ on when Ottawa would end strikes under proposed changes, Hajdu says

No ‘blanket answer’ on when Ottawa would end strikes under proposed changes, Hajdu says CRAIG LORD OTTAWA THE CANADIAN PRESS PUBLISHED 1 HOUR AGO Open this photo in gallery: Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon, right, and Minister for Canada-U.S. Trade Dominic LeBlanc, left, listen as Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu speaks during a news conference in Ottawa on Monday. ADRIAN WYLD/THE CANADIAN PRESS COMMENTS SHARE SAVE FOR LATER Listen to this article Learn more about audio Log in or create a free account to listen to this article. The federal jobs minister says she can’t give a “blanket answer” on when the federal government would move to end a strike or lockout under the new labour legislation tabled Monday. According to the proposed Building Canada Strong Act, a work stoppage must be affecting the “national interest” before the minister can trigger Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code to end a labour disruption. The existing tool allows a minister to refer two deadlocked parties to the Canada Industrial Relations Board to declare an impasse, end the work stoppage and move talks into binding arbitration. Jobs Minister Patty Hajdu said in an interview there’s no set timeline for federal government intervention in a strike affecting a critical industry. “It is a high bar to establish a national interest,” she said. “What I would say is that each strike in each industry is different and so it’s very hard to answer that with a blanket answer.” Labour code changes will threaten workers’ right to strike, unions warn The federal government has leaned on Section 107 in recent years to end walkouts at Canada Post, the CN and CPKC railways, and at the B.C. and Montreal ports. Air Canada flight attendants defied an attempt to use the measure to end their strike in 2025. The Canadian Labour Congress argues the proposed changes to Section 107 would weaken the position of workers in collective bargaining. The organization plans to respond to the government’s proposals in a press conference on Tuesday. Hajdu said strikes could still happen under the proposed legislation and acknowledged the point of a work stoppage is to inflict economic pressure in a labour dispute. But she said that pressure can mount quickly when, for example, a work stoppage hits the transportation sector and puts perishable goods at risk. She said the government will be evaluating each strike individually. Other proposed changes to the labour code include the introduction of a special…